Three Day Snow Blizzard still Howling

Hello Everyone, I thought I would share some photos of Our World the last few days. The blustery weather never seems to go away. But despite the frightful weather our lovely winter birds still come to visit the bird feeder. They are a Joy to see. Here is a photo I took from the sun room this AM of a Lovely Cardinal, so beautiful in its shades of winter red. Oh, How I love watching the Cardinal all year long. I truly wonder how they survive our dreadful cold and snowy Western Michigan Winters.

This photos show our neighbor's doors going out onto her deck. There is probably 4 feet of snow piled up. Can you believe, and this all came in the last 3 days.

My poor lovely Autumn Joy Sedums are buried in the snow. My Sweetie blew open a wee path to the front door on Sunday afternoon and now the path is already snowed in again.

This photo was taken at the height of the blizzard Sunday afternoon. You can hardly see where the driveway is or our neighbors house across the street. I reckon you can not even see the road in front of our fence. This is only December and we still have 3 more months of winter. Oh, how I dream of the warmth of the sunny south. vbg There is no going outside today so I will head to "My Sewing Room" and start working on a # 812 Arlyn Embroidery Envelope from Crab-Apple Hill and use some of my lovely wools to create it. I really love their patterns.

Happy Holidays to you all. Hugs Judy

Stuttgart Germany: Weihnachtsmarkt

While I was living in Germany I had the opportunity to visit several Christmas Market and one of my favorite was in Stuttgart, Germany. A Christmas market, also known as Christkindlmarkt, Christkindlesmarkt, Christkindlmarket, and Weihnachtsmarkt, is a street market associated with the celebration of Christmas during advent, mainly the four weeks preceding Christmas Day. These markets originated in Germany and Austria but are now being held in many other countries.

To read more about the history of Christmas Market you can visit this site.

I came upon a very unique Christmas Market Booth that sold very creative Bees Wax Molds and I could not resist buying a few. This lady was very kind to allow me to take a photo of her and her booth. The photo below is a sample of two of the molds I bought. Making beeswax ornaments follows a tradition that is centuries old and began in Germany with the Lebkuchen bakers. You can make beeswax ornaments for any occasion, season or holiday and also display them as beautiful sun catchers and wall decorations. I use mine all year around as sun catchers in my home.

Throughout The Christmas Market in Stuttgart there are endless booths of century old crafts that are truly beautiful. Beside the awesome pieces of art to admire most of the booths had beautiful old world Christmas displays presented on their roofs. I took many photos of them.

Every Christmas Market I visited throughout Germany and France was unique so I never tired traveling to them. The Stuttgart Christmas Market was approximately 2 1/2 hours drive from where I lived. Of course traveling to the Christmas Markets were always a challenge because it seem most of the time we would get lost along the way but we always found our destination eventually.

The weather on the day we visited the Stuttgart Christmas Market was chilly with a misty rain coming down. You can see that most visitors were using their umbrella. My Friend Jamie ( Fellow Nurse) and I traveled to many places and we always received kindness by the German people not matter where we went. I loved living in Germany and will always have very fond warm memories in my heart of this special time in my life.

I hope you all enjoyed this wee visit to the Stuttgart Christmas Market. Hugs Judy

Blogging Friends and Kreativ Blogger Award

In the past year I met a new blogging friend, Gayle from Nevada and she has the most wonderful blog called "Sparkle Jars" and she kindly nominated me for this very nice award. Thank You Gayle, greatly appreciated. I have a long list of wonderful blogs I visit often highlighted on my blog and I enjoy reading them all.

I have been inspired to try tatting this past year unfortunately I had little success because I could not get my fingers to work right. vbg So I thought I would like to share this award with some of the Lovely Tatting Blogs I discovered and enjoyed reading. They create very beautiful lace that you will be in awe of.

Here are the rules.
1. The winner may put the logo on her/his blog.
2. Put a link to the person you got the award from in your blog.
3. Nominate 5 blogs.
4. Put links to the blogs.
5. Leave a message for your nominees.

The tatting blogs I would like to share with you all are:

Carol from Penn. Laura, Linda from the UK, Lacy from SW Michigan, Tatting Chic from Sunny California. I hope you enjoy them all.

Hugs Judy

Crazy Quilt CD Pincushion

Hello Everyone, I thought I would share with you all a Crazy Quilt CD Pincushion I made for a dear friend for Christmas. I found the tutorial for this CQ CD Pincushion on "Ivory Blush Roses" blog last August and immediately fell in love with it. Lisa called her CQ CD Pincushion, Sea Dreaming and it is very beautiful. Lisa has a wonderful creative blog. I totally used 100% hand dyed wool fabric to create my CQ CD Pincushion. This photos shows a Dove.

This view shows a Christmas Tree stitched with DMC Jewel Effects threads to give the tree some glitter.

The snowman I created from 100% wool and felted it right onto the the wool fabric.

I also used silk ribbon to create the poinsettia shown in this photo. I also used Chenille Ric Rac and used the Dorset Feather Stitchery Couching technique to keep in place. I also used this lovely Chenille Ric Rac around the bottom of the Pincushion to cover where the 2 CD meet.

And of course any project would not be completed unless you sign and date it. I enjoyed creating this CQ CD Pincushion so much I reckon I will create one for myself in the new year.

Take care all and have A Wonderful Holiday Season. Judy

Montague Crazy Quilting Bee, Christmas Party

Since 1996 I have been online chatting with wonderful ladies from around the world. I am still a member of the Southern Cross Quilter from Australia and I was always envious of their lovely SCQ Retreats and Quilting Bee get together. I always wished that someday I would be able to find a group of ladies to stitch and chat with. To my great surprise I found them at a CQ class I took in September at our local quilt shop called Quilted Memories. The CQ class was one class a month for three months so during this time we were able to get to know each other.

These wonderful ladies invited me to their homes for the next several months. I offered to hold the December CQ Bee at my home. I decided to make it a wee bit more special because of the Christmas Holiday so I served some tea and brownies. There is a total of seven here today and one lady was unable to make it. We had such a lovely time chatting and stitching. For a special Christmas Surprise I decided to share some of my old wonderful Aussie Magazines that has been stored in the basement for sometimes. My New CQ Friends really enjoyed looking at them which made me very happy.

In the top photo Sue was sharing a quilt she had just gotten back from the machine quilting lady. The photo does not do it justice. Each block has twilling and embroidery white on white. The quilt is for her grand daughter. This quilt is truly lovely. So I am now blessed with some new friends who share my love of crazy quilting and they all live very near to me. A wish come true.

Hugs Judy

Our Christmas Tree and My Stitching Space

Merry Christmas Everyone, I had some time today so I took some photos of our 2008 Christmas Tree. This photo is of "My Stitching Space" in the living room. Here I can sit and stitch for hours. When the tree is not up I look right out onto the front yard where I can admire my flower beds in the "Blooming Season" and usually heaps of snow in the Winter.

The Quilt behind my chair is the very first and last quilt I ever bought before I started quilting back in 1994. the quilt pattern is called the Texas Lone Star or Bethlehem Star. It was made by an Amish lady in Indiana. The hand quilting stitches are absolute perfect except for in the bottom left hand corner where one of the blossom pattern is not completed. I was told by this lady that all Amish woman do this because the only person who is perfect is "God"... Also the Amish lady stitched 1987 in the bottom of the quilt so I will always know when she made it. Also the very lovely quilt rack was made for me for a Christmas a couple of years ago by "My Sweetie".

You can see in the above photo that today is a very snowy day with Lake Effect Snow warning for this evening where we are told we will get up to 12 inches of snow. very sad face. Most of the Christmas Ornaments are from a village called Lauscha in Eastern Germany. The Krebs Glas Ornaments are the first known company that made the glass blown ornaments. The "Krebs" link above will take you on a lovely photos tour of Lauscha and the place where these lovely ornaments are made. There is also several ornaments that my Kindred Spirits friends have made and given to me over the years.

I am a huge fan of Anne of Green Gable and another "Kindred Spirit Friend" named "River" gave me this wonderful Glass Ornament for Christmas this year. It is truly beautiful.

A Very Dear Friend Thea made this "Christmas Quilt" for me in 2003 and it has hung in the living room every Christmas since. It is machine embroidery which I have never attempted because I love to sit and stitch. It is truly beautiful.

This ornament I also bought in Lauscha Germany to remind me of all "My Wonderful Dear Friends in Australia and My Sis Lyn who also lives in Melbourne Australia.

I stitched this Folk Art Christmas Ornament back in 2002.

I also made this Folk Art Penny Rug Christmas Tree a few years back. Next week I will take you all on a tour of the Christmas Market in Stuggart Germany. Have a great week everyone.

Hugs Judy

My Seiffen Germany Christmas Scene Display

Today is December 1st 2008 and I have finished most of my Christmas decorations. I love this time of year when I can bring out all my lovely Christmas Decoration I bought when I lived in Germany.

The frosted Christmas Tree in the above photo is called a "Doppel Schwibbogon" which I bought in the lovely village of Seiffen, Germany. Seiffen is the official Christmas village in Germany. Seiffen is located in Eastern Germany in the "Erzgebirge Mountains" near the border of the Czech Republic. To me Seiffen is a "Magical Winter Wonderland" that I will remember forever through all the lovely Christmas decorations I have to admire when I bring them out every Christmas. Also you will see a Santa, Snowman and Christmas Tree Smokers which give off lovely smells from the scented cones.

The Christmas village of Seiffen in the winter time. In the far background you will see the Octagon "Mountain Church of Seiffen" which I have a replica of in the first photo above.

A bit of history about Seiffen. The toy village of Seiffen owes its name to mining. It is from the winning and washing out of tin that its name "Seiffen" ( mining of tin) originates. In 1324 the name was mentioned in a document for the first time. When mining became more and more unprofitable and miners got into serious difficulties, the number of wood tuners increased from year to year. Seiffen has a link to a lovely video that shows many of the wonderful toys they create. I only wished I would of brought home with me some lovely Christmas music from Seiffen.
The "Mountain Church of Seiffen" in the Spring time.

Above is a photo of the "Kurrende" singers. Historically "Kurrende" was a poor schoolboys choir singing before houses for alms. They are also included in the top photo of "My Seiffen Christmas Scene Display"!! I hope you all enjoyed the wee trip to Seiffen Germany. I have several more lovely Christmas places to take you in Germany in the weeks to come. Hugs Judy

Happy Thanksgiving to Family and Friends

In another 5 days we "Americans" will be celebrating our Thanksgiving Day Holiday. There are many reason why "My Sweetie and I" are thankful during this holiday season and everyday.

(1) We give thanks for the pleasure of gathering with family and friends.
(2) I am very thankful for the love I share with "My Sweetie" Bill and our Children and Grandchildren.
(3) We are thankful for our Good Health, Security, Shelter but most of all for the "Love" WE have for one another.
(4) I am Very Thankful for all "My Blogging Friends" and other "Dear Friends" around the world.
(5) I am also Very Thankful for My Dear SIS Lyn who lives in Melbourne Australia. Lyn has been so very supportive of me through many Happy and Sad times. Love You Lyn.


(5) We give thanks for "Life" and the "Freedom" to enjoy it all.
(6) We are also "Forever Thankful" for our Service Men and Woman who have given their lives and to those who are still in harms way everyday.
(7) We are especially "Very Proud" or "Our Grandson Tom" now serving his Country in Iraq. TOM WE LOVE YOU!! Know we think about you everyday.
(8) We wish all our service men and woman a Very Happy Thanksgiving Day.


Love Bill and Judy

Giving Thanks to Blogging Friends

Hello Everyone, I have been missing in action for awhile but "Life" is starting to get back to the usual "happy pace" so today I am catching up on my blogging. My Dear Friend Maggie at Magpies Collectables send along this special award to me. Thank you Maggie, you are so thoughtful and kind. I have discovered some lovely new blogs in the "UK" this year that was created by some very artistic ladies and their blogs are "Very Inspiring" and a "Joy" to read. There is also one other blog from a new blogger who creates the most lovely " Wool Art Dolls", with very lovely stitching, Pennie Rugs, and Hooked Rugs that is also a must see. Please have a look. I am Very Thankful to have met so many lovely friends through blogging. I now pass this lovely award onto you all. Hugs Judy

(1) Clare, Threads of Loveliness
(2) Annette, Fairy Shoes and Other Things
(3) Kayla, Kayla coo
(4) Jane, Loopy Lou's Adventures Into Handicrafts
(5) Jean, Genie's Art World
(6) Maureen, Maureen's Mixtures
(7) Darlene, Art4Sol

Flosses and Fabrics from Day Trip

My sweetie and me took a day trip to Lansing to celebrate his birthday and our 4th anniversary. We always have such a lovely time on our day trips. Of course we always manage to hit my favorite shops. I especially love the "The Hen House" in Charlotte, Michigan. Unfortunately she does not have a website but she does have a email addy, henhouseofcharlotte@hotmail.com Her phone number is: 517-543-6454. Her speciality is the "Primitive Look" with lots of rug hooking supplies, 100% hand dyed wools and heaps of Pennie Rug Patterns. vbg I instantly fell in love with the Valdani Vintage Hues Sampler of Hand-Overdyed Pearl Cottons made in Romania. Such wonderful colors that will be used on stitching My Crazy Quilt Of My Dreams which I am still piecing.

We also stopped in to my very very favorite shop in Mason Michigan called "Yards of Fabric. She has a nice supply of fancy fabrics for Crazy Quilting and lots of lovely silk ribbons and laces. Jeanne has no website and no email addy but she does have a phone number, 517-676-2973. I have bought many of the fabrics for my CQ here at this shop.

I have been busy stitching and stitching trying to complete my "Home Made Christmas Pressie". I am just about done with time to spare. VBG

Take care everyone, Hugs Judy

Wish Upon A Cure at Ludington Michigan

While DH and I was on a day trip to view the Autumn Colors I always look forward to seeing the annual Halloween Display in front of the Ludington Hospital. This Halloween display raises money for different organization in the area. I especially like the "Wish Upon A Cure" Halloween Display.

The Halloween Spider and Tin Man was also very impressive display. I wish everyone a Very Happy Halloween. Also the community of Ludington is going to celebrate "A Pink Christmas" this year with many event to raise money to buy equipment for the early detection of Breast Cancer.

Hugs Judy

My Sweetie's Surprise Birthday Party

For the last several months I have been very busy planning a surprise birthday party for "My Sweetie". He has been constantly reminded for the last year by oodles of mail he has received that this year he will be "65 years Old"!!! So I thought this would be a good year to make his birthday very special for him. I had the help of his daughter Robin and DIL Ann. Everyone arrived at the same time and as they pulled into the driveway while we were sitting in the living room he said, we have company what have you been up too??? LOL I could hardly believe that we truly surprised Bill. Yippppeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

This photo is of "My Sweetie" with his grandson Brett sitting beside him. Bill's daughter Robin brought the lovely balloons, "Gold" ones for supposedly the golden years, "Black" ones for "Over The Hill"!!! and a big smiley face too. In My Humble Opinion I do not think "My Sweetie" looks anywhere near "65" years old in fact I think he looks fantastic for being "65" years old.

My DH is a "Chevy" man and hence he got a new Chevy Hat and T-Shirt.

I had a very special cake made for my Sweetie. Our local Sweet Traditions make the most outrageous yummy cakes and candies that is out of this world. This was a lemon cake with lemon cream between the layers with butter cream frosting and burgundy roses.

Robin gave us these three wood bowl Mushrooms for in our garden. They were so unique. I loved them. They will be proudly displayed next summer in our front yard. We had 17 family members come and I made a good old fashion traditional baked Ham dinner. Everyone brought something to eat so everyone had plenty to eat. It sorta felt like an early Thanksgiving Dinner Celebration. VBG My Sweetie was so very Happy with His Surprised Birthday Party. Bill truly loves having his family around him and he enjoyed every minute of his special day. I hope I have many, many many years of being with this wonderful man and having family gatherings together.

We are off for a day trip to Lansing this weekend to attend a Christmas Fiber Festival and do a bit of shopping. We love going on day trips together because it gives us quality time to chat with each other and visit the beautiful countryside of Western Michigan. I bought "My Sweetie" a Tom Tom GPS that talks to him to let him know what directions we should drive to get to our destination. It also tells him when he goes more that 3 miles over the speed limit. VBG When this happen for the first time he told me, OH Dear Now I have TWO woman tell me what to do and where to go!!! LOL I love it. LOL So I will have some wonderful photos of the Fiber Festival next week.

I hope that life will slow down a bit now so I can get back to visiting my favorite blogs and chatting with everyone.

Hugs Judy

Autumn Decorating and Autumn Colors

I have been doing some Autumn cleaning and decorating. I got some of my old quilts I have made many years ago. Above is an Autumn Table Runner I made from a Thimbleberry pattern back in 1999. On the bottom shelve is an Angel and Heart Pennie Rug made by my friend Karen who lives in Sault Ste. Marie Canada. Karen gave it to me for my birthday back in 2006. I also made the wool felted pumpkin.

The turkey and pumpkin wall hanging I made back in 1997.

We have the most gorgeous huge Norway Maple in our front yard that is in the process of turning its beautiful gold colors. I will take another photo when it is at it peak color.

I have many decorative flags than I hang outdoors year around. This scarecrow one I like allot.

While I was searching through some drawers I discovered this antique Dutch table scarf I forgot I bought. So out it came to admire for awhile.

The above photo is of an Autumn Leaf that was made for me while I was living in Germany at a local florist. Good memories.

The above photo is of our home in the Autumn. My garden blooms are just about gone. My Autumn Joy Sedums just look pretty good. I hope you all enjoyed the wee tour of my world.

Hugs Judy